A clause-by-clause review of the cross-strait service trade pact was supported by a majority of respondents in a poll released yesterday, and almost half said the pact would pose a significant national security threat if passed.
Asked how they viewed the service trade pact — which is awaiting legislative review before taking effect — 73.7 percent said they supported a line-by-line review, while 10.2 percent said the deal should be put to a vote as a package and 16.1 percent did not give an opinion in the survey conducted by Taiwan Indicator Survey Research (TISR)
Overall, 44.5 percent of the respondents said they did not support the trade pact, with 32.8 percent supportive and 22.9 percent not giving an answer.
Respondents expressed greater concern toward the deal’s impact on national security and sovereignty, with 50 percent saying it would pose more disadvantages than advantages in those areas.
Opinions about the economic impacts were mixed, as 32.7 percent of the respondents said economic advantages would outweigh the disadvantages, while 25.8 percent had the opposite view. A further 4.9 percent said the disadvantages and advantages were about equal and 26.6 percent declined to answer.
On the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao (貢寮), New Taipei City, 59.4 percent supported at least a temporary suspension of construction, up 1.4 percent from a similar poll in March last year.
Of the respondents, 33.2 percent called for a permanent suspension. A further 17.4 percent said construction should be temporarily suspended until the plant passes safety checks and 8.8 percent said the suspension should remain until the decision of a national referendum.
Less than a quarter, or 23.4 percent, supported completing the construction, including 21 percent who said that the plant should be in operation. A further 2.4 percent said it should be completed, but not put into operation.
The survey also put President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) latest approval rating at 14.3 percent, with a disapproval rating of 74.9 percent.
Meanwhile, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) received almost the lowest support rate since he assumed the position in February last year, with an approval rate of 15.3 percent, only 0.2 percentage points higher than his lowest record in September last year.
A Taipei veterinarian is urging pet owners to avoid using insecticides around their homes, as their ingredients can be toxic to pets. Commercial-grade insecticides contain pyrethroids — organic compounds similar to natural pyrethrins, pesticides produced by flowers such as chrysanthemums — in quantities that are harmless to humans, but potentially fatal to cats and dogs, Asian Veterinary Specialist Referral Center veterinarian Chua Man-ling (蔡曼琳) said. Even in small quantities, pyrethroids are hazardous to cats, as they lack the metabolic enzymes needed to process them, Chua said. Cockroach sprays and ant traps are especially dangerous to pets as they contain boric acid, she
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